Selene's Choice

by Bert Hermans · Gouda, NL

The painting (front oil on panel 100 x 70 cm and inside oil on canvas 50 x 70; 100 x 70 and 50 x 70 cm) is named after Selene. She is depicted as a nine-year-old on both the outside and the inside. In Greek mythology, Selene was considered the goddess of the moon. That is why the moon can be seen on the front left. In life, Selene makes important choices and the extremes (paradise and hell) are depicted on the inner side panels left and right. The building that can be seen in the painting is the Galeria Vittorio Emanuelle II in Milan, which the painter Bert Hermans visited years ago and which made a deep impression on him at the time.